What's the deal with Wittlebee?

Riding the tide with this fast growing company

You've probably heard about Wittlebee, a monthly subscription service, delivering a box of handpicked clothing items for your child for $40 a month. You may also know there have been some ups and downs with this rapidly growing company.

With their new services launched and methods in place to get you the clothes you want for your kids, Wittlebee is back and better than ever. Check out the scoop on making it work for you!

All the "wittle" details

If you aren't already familiar with Wittlebee, you're probably wondering how it works. At the moment, there isn't a waitlist to join, like some subscription boxes resort to in order to manage inventory versus customer demand. Becoming a Wittlebee member is as easy as jumping on their website (wittlebee.com) and clicking the "Join" button. You'll be asked to pick a gender for the child you're shopping for (see more on that in the "What's new" section below!), what size they're currently wearing (choose from 0-3 months up to size 6), plus options such as the type of clothes you need for them (Long sleeve shirts? Pants? PJs?) and the colors the like to wear. All of this information is considered your "Style Profile" and is changeable at any time during your subscription.

From there, you're taken to a payment page — each box is $40 a month, with a $6 shipping fee. Wittlebee recently received some negative feedback from members for switching from free shipping to a shipping fee; however, Wittlebee maintains that having members pay for shipping ensures that their boxes will arrive quicker than ever (typically seven to 10 days).

What happens next? The talented stylists at Wittlebee put together your box (there's also a spot to leave "notes" for your stylist, in case you want to steer clear of shirts with cars or your daughter will throw a fit over anything pink, etc.). Once they've picked three items, they'll send you an email that allows you to pick three items from their "showroom," which features a variety of brands, styles and sizes, then they pack up your box and ship it to you!

For those who love — or hate — to shop

Love to shop? You'll be impressed with Wittlebee and will find it a fun new way to online shop. At $46 a box (including shipping) for six items, that's less than $8 per item, which is far less than you'll find some of these brands in the stores — from Tea Collection to Threadless — and without having to spend hours hunting for the deals online or in the stores.

Hate to shop? Wittlebee is going to be your saving grace. Take the stress out of shopping and let Wittlebee automatically ship you a box every month. You can even opt out of picking selections from the showroom, if you'd rather simply leave it in the hands of the stylists.

Don't try Wittlebee if...

You have a kid who's picky about fit: Moms know that all 3Ts are not created equal. Considering each box is filled with different brands, kids who are sensitive about pants that are too snug or sleeves that are too long or materials that bug them, probably aren't a good fit for Wittlebee.

You aren't willing to be flexible: Being able to pick three of the six items in your Wittlebee box every month certainly goes a long way in customizing a box that you're going to love. But, you have to "bee" willing to give some new brands, fits and styles a try too!

You need something specific... now: Counting on Wittlebee to deliver the swim trunks that your little guy needs for your trip to the beach in June or your daughter's Fourth of July outfit isn't a good idea. Look at Wittlebee as a fun supplement to their wardrobe, rather than its only source.

What's new at Wittlebee

The team at Wittlebee will be the first to admit that they grew much quicker than they were anticipating... which is a good thing, of course! At the end of 2012, Wittlebee announced to members that they were taking a little time-out to refocus on their brand and creating a quality experience for their customers. And, that's exactly what they did. Listening to customer feedback, they made some changes to Wittlebee to make it even more successful — taking each box down from eight items to six to include higher quality items from better brands, adding the shipping costs to the price of each box to get the boxes from their warehouse to your front door faster, adding the "showroom" to allow members more input in their boxes and more.

It's not often that a brand makes a publically announced step-back in order to move forward and we give Wittlebee kudos for recognizing that they needed to and for being humble enough to go for it in the name of solidifying their model. Seeing the forest through the trees, perhaps? Or, maybe, more appropriately, seeing the playground through the screaming toddlers?

Major mama points

Other reasons why Wittlebee is heading to the top of the class:

The customer service is worth writing home about. Between the interaction with customers on Facebook, their new Customer Care Portal online to get quick answers to common questions and responsive, helpful emails when you need that little boost of information, Wittlebee has you covered. Most importantly, they make you feel like more than just another number on their growing customer list.

Keep your eye out for fun surprises. They often run great specials on their Facebook page for members or "mystery boxes" that are full of goodies in your chosen size at an awesome price. Just be sure to jump on these offers right away if you're interested — they're typically available in limited quantities and they go quickly.

If you're a member, check out the Wittlebee Swap Group on Facebook. You can sell any Wittlebee items that weren't a good fit for your kiddos to other Wittlebee members (everything has a maximum price of $6, plus shipping) or you can hunt down a coveted item that didn't make it into your box. The group is monitored closely and endorsed by Wittlebee, so "swapping" is safe and convenient, on both ends.